Australian govt makes changes to PBS, resembling industry body's proposals

The Australian federal government has announced changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that would allow it to pay for new life-saving drugs including Herceptin (trastuzumab) for breast cancer sufferers. Critics say the changes could lead to Australia paying too much for new drugs with few extra health benefits, designed by pharmaceutical companies to exploit the changes. The proposed changes are considered to closely resemble those proposed in a draft plan by the industry association, Medicines Australia.

The proposals follow official concern that the double-digit growth in recent years in the cost of the PBS would be unsustainable, considering the aging population and constant pressure on the PBS for the addition to its schedule of newly-developed drugs.

One estimate is that the price of some 400 common medicines will fall by an average A$2.73 ($2.12) per prescription from August 2008, including antibiotics, the asthma drug Ventolin (albuterol), blood-pressure medicines and ulcer drugs.